Every Tampa Bay Lightning Captain, Ranked
The departure of Steven Stamkos still hangs over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It’s been a few months since he announced he would join the Nashville Predators, yet discussions about his choice are still happening. Discussions ranging from the shock of seeing the greatest player in franchise history playing in another jersey to questions about what the Lightning front office was thinking has continued through the NHL fanbase.
However, there has been one aspect of Stamkos’ decision that hasn’t been discussed as much and that is that the Lightning will need to choose a new captain. While Victor Hedman will most likely be Stamkos’ successor, guys like Nikita Kucherov, Ryan McDonagh and Brayden Point also have good arguments to be the one given the title.
Regardless of who it is, the fact is that next season the Lightning will have a brand new player wearing the C. That player will be the 11th person in team history to serve as team captain, a list with some notable names.
To reveal the history this new captain will be following, we here at RBLR Sports want to take a look at the 10 former captains and rank them from worst to best.
*Note:
The thing that will determine a player’s placement is what that player did while serving as team captain. Their entire career, entire time with the Lightning or even any time served as an alternate captain will not have any effect on the ranking.
10. Bill Houlder (1999)
We start off with a player who was the easiest to rank.
Houlder ranks dead last because he barely spent any time as the Lightning’s captain. He was given the C at the start of the 1999-2000 season. He lost that title in less than a month.
It’s kind of hard to make a case for yourself when you barely have any time to make a case at all. So because of his short time wearing the C, Houlder is the obvious choice as the worst Lightning captain.
9. Chris Gratton (1999-2000)
Gratton was the guy chosen to replace Houlder as Lightning captain. He would serve as the team’s captain from late October to February when he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres.
The reason for Gratton’s low ranking is pretty much the same as Houlder, he was only the team’s captain for a short period and didn’t have enough time to build a legacy. The only reason he ranks higher than Houlder is because his time as captain was a little longer.
The 1999-2000 season is one of the worst seasons in Lightning history. This isn’t just shown in the team’s 19-47-9-7 record, but in the fact that they had three different players serve as captains. Don’t worry Lighting fans, the third and final guy to wear the C this season won’t come up until way later in the list.
8. Mikael Renberg (1997-1998)
A player whose low ranking is due to him not spending less than a full season as team captain. Getting repetitive right?
Renberg ranks higher than the first two players because although he technically wasn’t officially a captain for a full season, it felt like he was. He was named team captain only a month into the 1999-2000 season and he would remain in the role until the season concluded. So he basically was the captain for the full season.
That said, this season was horrible. The team only managed to get 17 wins, went through three different head coaches and Renberg only recorded 38 points in 68 games. Not much to brag about, but at least he did something as team captain, unlike the first two guys on the list.
7. Martin St. Louis (2013-2014)
No, you’re not crazy. You did read that right.
St. Louis is undoubtedly one of, if not the, greatest player in franchise history. A Hart Trophy, two Art Ross trophies, several all-star games, a Stanley Cup, the biggest goal in team history and the first player to have his number retired by the team. No one doubts that he has an untouchable legacy with the team. But the reason he’s so low on this list is that none of those accomplishments happened when he was captain.
Like the previous three players on this list, St. Louis didn’t spend a full season as captain. He was given the C at the start of the 2013-2014 season and he held that title until March when he was traded to the New York Rangers.
To be fair to St. Louis, he was very good during his time as captain. In the 62 games he wore the C, he put up 61 points and helped the Lightning achieve a 34-23-5 record. He played a key role in helping the Lightning secure its first playoff birth since 2011. Plus he would go on to help the Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Finals that year. So, his total season was very good.
However, because he didn’t even spend a full season as team captain, St. Louis ranks low on the list. Don’t worry though, he’s the last player to serve less than one season as Lightning captain.
6. Rob Zamuner (1998-1999)
Zamuner served as the Lightning’s captain for one season. During that season he put up 19 points in 58 games and led the Lightning to a 19-54-9 season.
Not great but at least he wore the C for a full year.
5. Tim Taylor (2006-2008)
A stint that many fans may have forgotten considering it was sandwiched between two pretty big names.
Taylor served as team captain during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, though he didn’t play in the later seasons he to having surgery to correct hip dysplasia.
The Toolman, a nickname Taylor was given due to sharing a name with Tim Allen’s character on the show Home Improvement, put up only six points while wearing the C. However he did lead the team to a 44-win season and a playoff birth, where they fell in six games to a really good New Jersey Devils team.
So while Taylor’s individual performance as captain wasn’t that good, he ranks higher than Zamuner due to his team having more success.
4. Paul Ysebaert (1995-1997)
The first captain in team history.
Ysebaert wore the C for two full seasons (1995-1996 and 1996-1997) as well as for the first month of the 1997-1998 season before the title was given to Renberg.
In his two full seasons, he recorded 48 points and while the team struggled in his second year, his first season was highlighted by him leading the team to their first playoff appearance in franchise history.
While there are more accomplished captains, Ysebaert’s time wearing the C saw him help bring the team its first bit of success and helped lay the groundwork for the successful franchise the Lightning would become.
3. Dave Andreychuk (2002-2006)
This is where things get good.
Andreychuk was named captain at the start of his second season in Tampa and he would go onto wear the C for three seasons. If it weren’t for a lockout that canceled the 2004-2005 season, it would have been four seasons.
Individually, Andreychuk put up 91 points during his stint as captain. But what makes him rank so high on the list is the success he led the Lightning to.
The hall-of-famer played the role of Lightning veteran leader for the team, which helped usher in the first golden era for the Lightning. As captain Andreychuk led the team to three playoff appearances, the franchise’s first playoff series win and of course the 2004 Stanley Cup.
Andreychuk lifting the Stanley Cup is arguably the most iconic moment in Lightning history. There’s a reason there’s a statue depicting the moment outside Amalie Arena. Let’s say that again. The most iconic moment in franchise history, something so iconic that a statue was built depicting it, features Andreychuk wearing the C. If that’s not enough reason for him to rank in the top three, then we don’t know what is.
2. Vincent Lecavalier (2000-2001/ 2008-2013)
The only player to have two different stints as team captain.
Lecavalier was the third player to be given the C during the 1999-2000. He would remain captain for the entire 2000-2001 season but was stripped of the C the next season by John Tortorella. He would regain the position at the start of the 2008-2009 season and this time would hold onto the C for much longer, serving until the conclusion of the 2012-2013 season.
You could argue that Andreychuk should be ranked higher due to having more team success. The Lightning only made the playoffs one time under Lecavalier’s leadership, though that year they were only one game away from going to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Lecavalier ranks higher due to both having a longer tenure as captain, his stint being the second longest in team history, and due to his strong individual performance. He constantly put up great stats and he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and made two All-Star games, one of which he served as team captain while wearing the C for the Lightning.
Lecavalier was the face of the franchise while he was the captain and until the final guy on the list came along, he was the name fans thought of when you said Lightning captain.
1. Steven Stamkos (2014-2024)
The longest-serving. The most accomplished. The best.
We know it may be tough talking about how great Stamkos was as captain considering he just left. But we have to talk about it because he is unquestionably the best captain in team history.
After St. Louis was traded, Stamkos was named captain and he led the team to its most successful era in its history. Under Stamkos’ leadership the Lightning made the playoffs all but one year, and even then the one year they missed the playoffs they still had a winning record. They won a president’s trophy, went to six conference finals, four Stanley Cup Finals and of course two Stanley Cups.
Stamkos would be named five All-Star games, break nearly every franchise record, record his first 100-point season and be part of some of the most iconic moments in team history, such as the goal he scored in his return to the ice during the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals.
Stamkos was always praised by his teammates and coaches for hailing leadership and was credited for helping keep those championship teams together. For example, when asked about him head coach Jon Cooper said “When the team needs a boost, whether it’s on the ice or in the locker room, it used to be Stammer would have to go out and score a goal to get that boost. Now, he does it in so many different ways. His leadership, how calm he is, his feistiness. I think he’s obviously scored some big goals in this series, but he’s laid out some big hits in this series. That’s really been galvanizing. He’s going to go in the Hall of Fame one day and people are going to know him as a scorer, but the people that have been around him for this long will know he was much more than that.”
Stamkos’ time as captain saw a combination of amazing individual production and team success. And because of that, he is unquestionably the greatest captain in team history. Whoever is chosen to be the team’s new captain has some major shoes to fill.
